Review:Cloverfield

06Feb

I am going to admit that I love the Cloverfield series right here. I like how they blend different genres and styles. The first one had a found footage feel with a Godzilla origin. The second had a thriller/horror vibe with an alien invasion, and the third has a science fiction action adventure and lost in space feel. And yet all work together in the same universe. As a story creator myself, I LOVE THIS!

Now, I admit there are a lot of plot holes, and some big science aspects that really miss the mark, especially in the third one. Still, I enjoyed the actual story. I liked what they did with the main character. I like the mystery of what’s happening. And I think it fits in this…universe…?

For a non spoiler review: Don’t go into this expecting the best picture you ever saw. That’s not what this is. Don’t go into it expecting Godzilla monsters. That isn’t what this is. Don’t go into it expecting hard sci-fi with absolutely flawless science to back up what’s happening on screen. That is DEFINITELY not what this is.

What you should expect is a survival adventure on a space station slowly falling apart. And it does an okay job of being that, as well as expanding upon the universe of Cloverfield a bit. There are some good special effects, some interesting character moments, and as a survival space movie it is good.

If you’re trying to bridge the gap between Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane then you might get annoyed. Don’t watch it for that.

Now, for the spoilery stuff. You’ve been warned:

First, the science was off in a few places. Water does not freeze in space, in boils. Sure, it looked awesome, and maybe there could be other explanations for what happened, but the group of scientists did not question the fact that water froze in space. Actually, technically it boils and then it freezes leaving behind a fine mist of frozen particles, but it does not freeze into giant spears! This is why when you throw a cup of boiling water into the air in sub zero weather it turns to snow.

Second, they never really explain the hand. You might have seen a picture of the thing (Adams Family reference) crawling around all on its own. They don’t explain it, or how the hand knew where the gyroscope was, or how it stayed alive, or what happened to it. Or how the gyroscope didn’t kill the guy immediately. Or why the guy suddenly started hearing voices (though I think that was the worms.) Plot hole after plot hole after plot hole. But that’s okay, it’s a made for TV movie and I expect it won’t be perfect.

What I did like; The idea of parallel universe colliding, than overlapping each other. The infinite amount of theory you have. Is this the same universe or a parallel universe? Did this pull the monsters in from another world, or did it push them onto another world? We don’t know, we can’t know, because the story is infinite.

I love the blending of genres into a whole. As one youtuber said, it stretches the idea of what we call a series. I have done this with my own novels. Witch’s Sacrifice is a coming of age novel, Witch’s Curse is a fantasy adventure, and Witch’s Stand is a political intrigue story. All are set in the same world, with similar themes and people, the same magic system and arch types, but all have a slightly different way of telling the story. I love playing with that idea.

So in the end… The Cloverfield Paradox is a good stand alone movie, but don’t try too hard to stitch them together. You might hurt yourself. Sad, because I love good story theories too, but ultimately that’s where it stands.